Is it really a recruiting email?

It’s that time of year again – college programs are starting to plan and advertise their fall clinics! You can expect to receive even more invites (to in person, and now virtual clinics too!) this year than usual due to COVID-19 budget cuts – almost every program across the country uses camps and clinics as fundraisers in a regular year and even more so now. Unfortunately, many programs see this as a “necessary evil” to supplement their budgets and will send email invites that families can see as recruiting interest.
 
Just because you receive an email invite to a clinic DOES NOT mean you are being recruited by that school. Look over these three somewhat similar clinic invite emails to see the varying level of interest from “College Coach XYZ” who is sending them.  Even though they are all “inviting you to attend their clinic” you can easily tell who they are really recruiting. Are they inviting you to the clinic to boost their fundraising money, to evaluate you and see if they should up their interest in you (this really does happen, especially now with virtual recruiting this past summer), or are they already extremely interested in you?
 
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Hi Sally!
 
I hope you had a great summer softball season; it was a crazy one wasn’t it? We were able to see you play virtually, and we would like to invite you to our fall skills clinic! Our clinic is a great way to get to know our staff, and see how we run a college practice here at XYZ University!
 
You can register online here: ------------. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. We can’t wait to see you soon!
 
Go XYZ!
Coach --------.
 
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Hi Sally!
 
I hope you had a great summer softball season; it was a crazy one wasn’t it? We were able to see you play virtually at ABC tournament versus DEF team. Our staff was extremely impressed with your quality at bats, as well as your play diving into the 5/6 hole! We would like to invite you to our fall skills clinic! Our clinic is a great way to get to know our staff and players, as well as see how we run a college practice here at XYZ University! We are offering a campus tour for families after the clinic as well, if you’re interested in joining us on the tour please let me know!
 
You can register online here: ------------. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. We can’t wait to see you soon!
 
Go XYZ!
Coach --------.
 
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Hi Sally! 
 
I hope you had a great summer softball season; it was a crazy one wasn’t it? We were able to see you play virtually at ABC tournament versus DEF team. Our staff was extremely impressed with your quality at bats, as well as your play diving into the 5/6 hole! We are currently looking to add a middle infielder to our 2022 class. After seeing that you are interested in studying psychology on your profile, we could be a great fit for you academically. Psychology is one of our top majors on campus, and we currently have 7 softball players majoring in it!
 
I wanted to reach out to invite you to our upcoming skills clinic. Attending a clinic is a great way to get to know our staff and players, as well as see how we run a college practice here at XYZ University! While the clinic will be on a Saturday, we would love to set up an unofficial visit for you and your family that Friday. You can tour campus, meet with our coaching staff, sit in on a class, meet with admissions/and financial aid counselors.
 
After seeing you play this summer our coaching staff believes that you have the potential to make an impact for our team. I would love to set up a time to chat with you on the phone about what we can offer you here at XYZ both athletically and academically. Feel free to shoot me a text at (000)111-2222 and we can set up a time that works for us both! 
 
Go XYZ!
Coach ---------.
 
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How to  differentiate what real recruiting interest looks like:
1) Have you heard from them BEFORE the clinic invite email? This is a big one – generally if a coach only reaches out to you to invite you to a clinic they aren’t really recruiting you.

2) Is there anything about the email that is directed towards you as an individual past the “Hi Sally!” greeting?

3) Does the email discuss where the coach saw you play or details about your play? Have they done research on you (found you on your travel team website, looked at social media, etc.) to know your academic needs?

4) Is there an action the coach wants you to take other than attending the clinic? Send your unofficial transcript? Send them times that would work to talk on the phone? 

5) If you respond asking questions or ask to set up a call, do they get back to you in a timely fashion? If you ask to set up an unofficial visit do they respond vaguely that they’ll get back to you with some dates or do they seem excited to get you to campus?